Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claim(s) 1-19 have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 1 and 17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Takayama et al US 20090296765, herein after Takayama ‘765.
Regarding claim 1, Takayama ‘765 discloses an optical device ([0131], semiconductor laser, Figures 18-19), comprising: a substrate (10); an epitaxial layer structure disposed over the substrate that includes (Figure 18): a first clad layer disposed over the substrate (22/12), a first waveguide layer disposed over the first clad layer (guide layer 23g2/13g2), an active layer (23w2, 23b1, 23w1/13w3, 13b2, 13w2, 13b1, 13w1) disposed over the first waveguide layer, a second waveguide layer (guide layer 23g1/13g1) disposed over the active layer (Figure 18), a second clad layer (24/14) disposed over the second waveguide layer (Figure 18), and a cap layer disposed over the second clad layer (protective layer 25/15); a pair of trenches (inner openings) formed in an inner region of a surface of the epitaxial layer structure (Figures 18-19); and a pair of grooves (outer openings), each formed in an outer region of the surface of the epitaxial layer structure (Figures 18-19), wherein a width of a groove of the pair of grooves changes from one end of the optical device to the other end of the optical device (Figure 19), along an emission axis of the optical device, wherein the width of the groove on the one end is wider than the other end (Figure 19), wherein the one end and the other end are on opposite sides of each other along the emission axis ([0034-0039]), and wherein the width is tapered from the one end and the other end (Figure 19).
Regarding claim 17, Takayama ‘765 further discloses a laser device ([0131], semiconductor laser, Figures 18-19), comprising: an epitaxial layer structure (Figure 18): a pair of trenches (inner openings) formed in an inner region of a surface of the epitaxial layer structure (Figures 18-19); and a pair of grooves (outer openings), each formed in an outer region of the surface of the epitaxial layer structure (Figures 18-19), wherein a width of a groove of the pair of grooves changes from one end of the optical device to the other end of the optical device (Figure 19), along an emission axis of the optical device, wherein the width of the groove on the one end is wider than the other end (Figure 19), wherein the one end and the other end are on opposite sides of each other along the emission axis ([0034-0039]), and wherein the width is tapered from the one end and the other end (Figure 19).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
Claims 2-16, 18-19, and 21 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Takayama ‘765 in view of Ebbecke US 20220029388, herein after Ebbecke ‘388.
Regarding claim 2, Takayama ‘765 further discloses wherein: each trench, of the pair of trenches (inner openings-Figure 18), extends into at least the second clad layer (24/14), and does not extend into the active layer (23w2, 23b1, 23w1/13w3, 13b2, 13w2, 13b1, 13w1); and each groove (outer openings), of the pair of grooves, extends through the cap layer (25/15), the second clad layer (24/14), but does disclose that the grooves extend into the second waveguide layer and into the active layer.
However, in the same field of endeavor, Ebbecke ‘388 (Figures 7-8) further discloses wherein: each groove (5), of the pair of grooves, extends through the cap layer (24), the second clad layer (23), and the second waveguide layer (22), and into the active layer (21, see Figures 7-8). It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teaching of Ebbecke ‘388 with Takayama ‘765 to suppress parasitic modes such as ring modes (Paragraphs 20 and 78).
Regarding claim 9, Takayama ‘765 discloses an optical device ([0131], semiconductor laser, Figures 18-19), comprising: an epitaxial layer structure that includes an active layer (23w2, 23b1, 23w1/13w3, 13b2, 13w2, 13b1, 13w1); a pair of trenches (inner openings) formed in an inner region of a surface of the epitaxial layer structure (Figures 18-19); and a pair of grooves (outer openings) formed in an outer region of the surface of the epitaxial layer structure (Figures 18-19), wherein a width of a groove of the pair of grooves changes from one end of the optical device to the other end of the optical device (Figure 19), along an emission axis of the optical device, wherein the width of the groove on the one end is wider than the other end (Figure 19), wherein the one end and the other end are on opposite sides of each other along the emission axis ([0034-0039]), and wherein the width is tapered from the one end and the other end (Figure 19).
Takayama ‘765 does not disclose that each groove of the pair of grooves has a depth that is greater than a depth of the pair of trenches. However, in the same field of endeavor, Ebbecke ‘388 (Figures 7-8) further discloses a pair of trenches formed in an inner region of a surface of the epitaxial layer structure (See Figure 8, openings between edges 9 in passivation layer 8); and a pair of grooves formed in outer regions of the surface of the epitaxial layer structure, wherein each groove, of the pair of grooves (5), has a depth that is greater than a depth of each trench of the pair of trenches (See Figures 7-8, note that 5 is not labeled in Fig. 8, but shown). It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teaching of Ebbecke ‘388 with Takayama ‘765 to suppress parasitic modes such as ring modes (Paragraphs 20 and 78).
Regarding claim 18, Takayama ‘765 further discloses wherein: each trench (inner openings), of the pair of trenches, does not extend into an active layer of the epitaxial layer structure (Figure 18); but does not disclose that each groove, of the pair of grooves, extends into the active layer of the epitaxial layer structure. However, in the same field of endeavor, Ebbecke ‘388 (Figures 7-8) further discloses and each groove (5), of the pair of grooves, extends into the active layer of the epitaxial layer structure (See Figures 7-8). It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teaching of Ebbecke ‘388 with Takayama ‘765 to suppress parasitic modes such as ring modes (Paragraphs 20 and 78).
Regarding claims 3 and 10, Ebbecke ‘388 further discloses wherein a fill factor of the optical device is greater than or equal to 60% (See Figure 8).
Regarding claim 4, Ebbecke ‘388 further discloses wherein the optical device is a broad area laser device configured to emit a near infrared laser beam (Paragraph 47).
Regarding claims 5, 13 and 19, Ebbecke ‘388 further discloses slow axis far field divergence angle associated with the laser device is controlled (Paragraphs 23-24, wherein the slow axis divergence “radiation” angle is controlled in the device), but does not specifically disclose the claimed range of is less than or equal to 10 degrees. Ebbecke ‘388 discloses that the “Thus, the radiation angle can be controlled in a plane perpendicular to a growth direction of the semiconductor layer sequence and birefringence at edge regions of a current-fed region intended for generating laser radiation can be avoided or at least greatly reduced.” Thus, when avoided, the slow axis far field divergence angle would be approximately zero. It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention for a slow axis far field divergence angle associated with the optical device to be less than or equal to 10 degrees since for the purpose of reducing suppress parasitic modes such as ring modes (Paragraph 78).
Regarding claim 6 and 14, Ebbecke ‘388 discloses wherein the groove includes a sidewall that is at least one of: rough; non-planar; or oriented at a non-zero angle to an emission axis of the optical device (See Figure 8).
Regarding claim 11, Ebbecke ‘388 further discloses wherein the optical device is configured to emit a laser beam associated with a spectral range of 700 to 1600 nanometers. (Paragraph 47).
Regarding claim 12, Ebbecke ‘388 further discloses wherein: each trench (See Figure 8, openings between edges 9 in passivation layer 8), of the pair of trenches, does not extend into the active layer (21); and each groove (5), of the pair of grooves, extends into the active layer (See Figures 7-8, note that 5 is not labeled in Fig. 8, but shown).
Regarding claims 7-8 and 15-16 Takayama ‘765 further discloses that the grooves are configured to cause a light- current curve associated with the optical device to not include a kink, specifically to be smooth (Figure 17) and Ebbecke ‘388 further discloses that the grooves are configured to cause a light- current curve associated with the optical device to not include a kink, specifically to be smooth (Paragraphs 23-26, wherein structural edges and thus distortions at a current-fed region generating the laser radiation are avoided).
Regarding claim 21, Takayama ‘765 further discloses that the pair of grooves (outer openings) are formed at an edge of the surface of the epitaxial layer structure (Figure 18) wherein pair of trenches do not span past the active layer of optical device (Figure 18) and Ebbecke ‘388 (Figures 7-8) further discloses and each groove (5), of the pair of grooves, spans past the active layer of the epitaxial layer structure (See Figures 7-8) and the pair of trenches do not span past the active layer of optical device (Figures 7-8).
Conclusion
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/JESSICA S MANNO/SPE, Art Unit 2898